Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP) — If you love St. Patrick's Day, you might want to buy it Lottery ticket. Mega Millions and Powerball have some big jackpots after several weeks.
Because no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Friday night, the Mega Millions jackpot for Tuesday night's drawing is already valued at $875 million. Saturday night's Powerball jackpot is $600 million.
Just remember that The chance of winning any lottery jackpot is extremely low. Mega Millions players have a 1 in 302.6 million chance of winning the top prize. With odds close to 1 in 292.2 million, winning the Powerball jackpot isn't easy.
But the excitement remains.
It's the sixth time the jackpot has been this big in the nearly 22-year history of the Mega Millions game, and five of those six jackpots have exceeded $1 billion, Mega Millions reports. Winning tickets were sold in South Carolina, Michigan and Illinois. Maine And Florida.
There was a big winner in Friday night's Mega Millions drawing. A ticket in New York matches all five white balls drawn and wins $1 million.
The Mega Millions jackpot has been rolled 28 times since the two winning tickets were drawn in California on Dec. 8, lottery officials said. Mega Millions drawings occur every Tuesday and Friday night.
Mega Millions isn't the only current multi-million dollar jackpot. Wednesday night's Powerball jackpot is estimated at $600 million, and no one matched six numbers Wednesday, officials said.
After January 1st, this is Powerball's 32nd change Michigan won a prize worth $842.4 million. Powerball is drawn three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
If you're lucky enough to hit one of the big jackpots, Robert Pagliarini, president and chief financial advisor at Pacifica Wealth Advisors, Inc. in Irvine, California, has some advice.
“Take a deep breath,” Pagliarini told The Associated Press. “You will be faced with many tax, legal and financial decisions, so I want you to be calm because when you are calm you can make better decisions.”
Pagliarini suggested creating a team to help with decisions, including a lawyer, tax expert and financial advisor experienced in dealing with windfalls.
“Finally, even if you have experts to guide you, don't forget that it's your money and you're in charge – they're working for you. Ask questions and get them to explain things to you. The goal is to turn your sudden wealth into sustainable wealth,” he said.
Mega Millions tickets cost $2 and are sold in 45 states, Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands. Powerball tickets are $2 and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
